Family with unvaccinated two-year-old has warning for travellers after being turned away from Leamington, Ont., hotel

Windsor, Ont. -

A Leamington, Ont., hotel general manager and a Montreal family that was turned away over the weekend are both cautioning travelers to check the details of a reservation before booking.

Luis Alvarado booked his stay at the Quality Inn in Leamington late Saturday night through a third party travel website, but when his family of five arrived he learned children under 12 or unvaccinated guests are not permitted.

“I tell to the lady we was two adults and three kids, one of them was two years old, when I told her that she said no, kids are not allowed over here,” says Alvarado.

The hotel quarantines migrant workers before they go to nearby farms, something general manager Dharmesh Patel says is outlined before and after booking.

“We have an automatic template set up, so that when a guest books, they automatically get an email from Expedia and it states our policies and also asks COVID-19 questions that the guests have to respond to.”

Alvarado says he didn’t notice the COVID-19 restrictions on the hotel’s website until afterwards. Alvarado says his family members are all vaccinated except for his two-year-old, child who is ineligible. He has a message for other travelers with young children.

“To the other families, I think before travelling to go on the main page of the hotel,” says Alvarado.Luis Alvarado and his family in Leamington, Ont. (Source: Luis Alvarado)

Patel believes the booking went through because Alvarado didn’t list the children in the online reservation.

“Because the reservation was only made for two adults, there was no indication of any kids and because he booked on a third party website, we weren’t able to contact him,” says Patel.

Patel says it’s unfortunate they had to turn the travellers away, but he says it’s important to follow the COVID-19 protocols for the safety of their staff and other guests.

“We can’t risk my staff or my other guests or the quarantine workers, because you have to remember these guys once they’re done here, they are going to the farms,” says Patel. “They’re putting that food on the table for us.”

Alvarado says they were offered a refund and ended up at another Windsor hotel around 2 a.m., but he doesn’t anticipate travelling again anytime soon.

“I think before travel, I’m going to wait until the pandemic is finished, and I’m going to stay in Montreal and be a tourist in my own city because it’s too many problems to go outside.”